Multiple Choice
Identify the
letter of the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
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Passage 1
The following questions refer to this
passage.
Susie’s family had just moved to Boston when her
father lost his job. Her mother, a former stay-at-home mom, entered the work force as a secretary to
make ends meet, but the small paychecks didn’t make up for the gaps in their income or the steep
moving expenses that drained their savings and strained their credit. Already worried about
foreclosure, the family felt blindsided when the electrical fire started in the basement and rendered
the house a total loss. Due to their strapped conditions, they had let the payments lapse on their
insurance policy. Like a sparrow caught in a hurricane, the family felt completely helpless.
Displaced, they ended up sleeping in cots in a mission downtown with other vagrants. Soon
after, Susie became ill. Thinking it was a side-effect of the smoke inhalation, the doctor visiting
the shelter said that symptoms would pass, but a month later, Susie only seemed worse. Alyssa, a
volunteer, had grown worried, so she took Susie to the Emergency Room. After the doctors ran numerous
tests, they realized that Susie had Leukemia. Susie’s parents, frantic with worry and numb with
helplessness, reached out to the community, seeking help of any kind. They knew she needed care, but
the medical bills they faced were astronomical. Alyssa once again stepped in, organizing a series of
fundraisers to provide money for the family to relocate to Memphis and get on their feet while
sending Susie to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital. This facility has top-rated
doctors using the latest research and techniques but does not turn away any child due to the
inability to pay.
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1.
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The
sentence, “Like a sparrow caught in a hurricane, the family felt completely helpless” is an
example of a. | juxtaposition | b. | personification | c. | simile | d. | metaphor | | |
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2.
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In
order to relate to the families in the shelter, volunteers, like Alyssa, must have a real
understanding of the difficulties the families face. They must feel __________ for the needy
families’ situations.
a. | obligation | b. | philanthropy | c. | empathy | d. | gratitude | | |
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3.
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The
word “vagrants” in the paragraph most closely means
a. | lost
people | b. | homeless people | c. | hungry
people | d. | criminals | | |
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4.
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Which
of the following sentences from the story is a COMPLEX SENTENCE containing a SUBORDINATE
CLAUSE? a. | After the
doctors ran numerous tests, they realized that Susie had Leukemia. | b. | Soon after,
Susie became ill. | c. | Her mother, a former stay-at-home mom, entered the work force
as a secretary to make ends meet, but the small paychecks didn’t make up for the gaps in their
income or the steep moving expenses that drained their savings and strained their
credit. | d. | They knew she needed care, but the medical bills they faced
were astronomical. | | |
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Passage 2
The following questions refer to the passage
below.
Two women stood at the corner watching the front door
of the church. One woman was blond, tall, and slender. She was polished and poised from the top of
her highlighted hair to the tips of her Prada pumps. This woman impatiently brushed a speck of dirt
from her Dior dress as she waited for her daughter to run down the steps from her Sunday school class
and climb into the shiny Lexus. As the girl’s pigtails bounced toward the car, the woman climbed
into the driver’s seat, complaining that they would have a difficult time getting a table for
lunch at this late hour.
The other woman
was a brunette. She hid part of her skinny body behind the wall as she gazed in reverence at the
stained glass of the door. Her filthy coat hid a worn T-shirt that displayed a high school mascot
from another state that the woman had never passed through, its previous owner having discarded the
shirt into a bin for Goodwill. The back doors of this church would open soon, offering the warmth and
acceptance inside. Volunteers would gather, as they did every week, to spoon steaming soup into
Styrofoam bowls for needy families. This would be her first meal in two days. Hunger stood with
her now, as it followed her always, reminding her of life’s uncertainty. She thanked God
each day for the people in churches like these that shared their blessings with people like
her.
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5.
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The
underlined sentence displays an example of a. | metaphor | b. | exemplification | c. | simile | d. | personification | | |
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6.
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The
description of the two women’s physical appearance and mental state is an example of
a. | exemplification | b. | metaphor | c. | irony | d. | juxtaposition | | |
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7.
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In
their physical descriptions, the first woman is referred to as “slender” while the second
woman is “skinny.” This is an example of a. | figurative
language | b. | irony | c. | diction | d. | juxtaposition | | |
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8.
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It is
clear from her description that the second woman feels _____________ for the volunteers in the
church. a. | gratitude | b. | compassion | c. | humane | d. | philanthropy | | |
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9.
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It is
clear from her description that the first woman feels _____________ toward the church, and feels
______________ toward her appearance.
a. | Altruism, Obligation | b. | Obligation,
Materialistic | c. | Empathy, Altruism | d. | Materialistic,
Empathetic | | |
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10.
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The
church’s practice of feeding the needy families in the area is an example of a. | gratitude | b. | expulsion | c. | materialism | d. | philanthropy | | |
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Passage 3
The following questions refer to the passage
below.
Nine years ago,
Ernie was an 8-month old colt slated to ship to an American slaughterhouse where he would have been
killed and processed into meat for human consumption in the Asian and European market. Instead, I
bought him by the pound (despite the arbitrary ban my husband, David, had put on getting any more
horses – silly man) and booked a trailer to bring him home.
I buy all my horses by the pound. They come from slaughter yards and
kill pens and PMU ranches. They arrive frail, scarred, scared and traumatized. We shower them
with love and kindness, cure their infections, rehabilitate and train them for a new job. Some are
too tired and broken to ride, but we’re fine with that – we coddle them and let them live
as long as they like. They are our friends and companions and we love each and every
one.
<http://middletown-ct.patch.com/articles/how-president-obama-made-it-legal-to-slaughter-horses>
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11.
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In
the 2nd paragraph, the seriousness of the horses’ situation could be described as
being a. | sensible | b. | grave | c. | obligatory | d. | humane | | |
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12.
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It is
clear from her description that the speaker feels _____________ toward the slaughterhouse
horses. a. | materialism | b. | philanthropy | c. | obligation | d. | compassion | | |
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13.
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Seeing the horses in such poor conditions really touched the speaker’s
__________. a. | sensibilities | b. | empathy | c. | gravity | d. | obligation | | |
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14.
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The
word “frail” in the paragraph most closely means a. | hungry | b. | apprehensive | c. | injured | d. | fragile | | |
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15.
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By
showing sympathy toward the distressed horses, one might say that the speaker is
_________. a. | obligated | b. | grateful | c. | humane | d. | expelled | | |
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Passage 4
The following questions refer to the passage
below.
Within minutes of leaving Broken Hill, there's not a
building in sight. Scrawny, stunted trees barely poke above scrubby bushes. It looks dry and not
nourishing. "I've never seen it look so green," enthuses Spangler, saying recent rain, the
first in a long time, has spawned an explosion of growth on usually barren rock. There are
myriad variations of blue-green, bronze-green, straw-green, olive-green and silver-green, though
nothing my city eyes would describe as vibrant or lush.
Read more:
<http://www.smh.com.au/travel/life-beyond-the-wire-20111208-1ok3b.html#ixzz1gebnxK4e>
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16.
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The
visually appealing details “stunted trees barely poke above scrubby bushes,” could be
classified as a. | connotation | b. | personification | c. | diction | d. | imagery | | |
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17.
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This
location could be described as a. | empathetic | b. | humane | c. | desolate | d. | delightful | | |
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18.
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The
word “barren” in the paragraph most closely means a. | empty | b. | fertile | c. | abundant | d. | fruitful | | |
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Writing
Choose the best answer for each
question.
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19.
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Ascher’s essay, “On
Compassion,” began by leading readers through several examples of encounters with the homeless.
These examples were designed to lead readers to her general conclusion. This type of organization is
known as a. | cause and
effect | b. | exemplification | c. | personal
narrative | d. | juxtaposition | | |
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20.
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Read the given
prompt:
The blame for a child’s failure should always be placed with the parent. It is
ultimately the parent’s responsibility to teach a child to be
successful.
Write an essay that agrees or disagrees with this
statement.
Which of the following thesis statements would be MOST appropriate for an essay that
disagrees? a. | Although parents are responsible for
giving their children the tools for success, children must be held accountable for their own
mistakes, meaning that success or failure ultimately is up to each
individual. | b. | I believe that parents have no control over the behavior of their
children. | c. | While it is true that parents are ultimately responsible for their children, it is
unfair to say that a child’s failure is the parent’s fault, even though it usually
is. | d. | Are parents at fault when their children
fail? | e. | Because parents have the duty of teaching their children to be successful in the
world, bad parenting can often be partially blamed for a child’s failure, but children, as
individuals with free wills, must also shoulder some responsibility. | | |
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21.
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Look
at the excerpt from the essay “Unleashing the Power of Creativity” by Bill
Gates.
I believe that my own good fortune brings with it a
responsibility to give back to the world. My wife, Melinda, and I have committed to improving health
and education in a way that can help as many people as possible.
As a father, I believe that the death of a child in Africa
is no less poignant or tragic than the death of a child anywhere else. And that it doesn't take much
to make an immense difference in these children's lives.
I'm still very much an optimist, and I believe that progress
on even the world's toughest problems is possible — and it's happening every day. We're seeing
new drugs for deadly diseases, new diagnostic tools, and new attention paid to the health problems in
the developing world.
I'm excited
by the possibilities I see for medicine, for education and, of course, for technology. And I believe
that through our natural inventiveness, creativity and willingness to solve tough problems, we're
going to make some amazing achievements in all these areas in my
lifetime.
Which of the
following detail sentences uses embedded quotations and a signal phrase MOST
effectively? a. | Bill Gates, the
CEO of Microsoft, thinks that we need to help others. | b. | Founder and CEO
of Microsoft, Bill Gates, emphasized that we have a “responsibility to give back to the
world,” and we can work to solve the “toughest problems” by employing “our
natural inventiveness, creativity and willingness to solve tough problems.”
| c. | “The death
of a child in Africa is no less poignant or tragic than the death of a child anywhere else,” so
we must work to make a difference using “our natural inventiveness, creativity and willingness
to solve tough problems.” | d. | Bill Gates said, “I believe that my own good
fortune brings with it a responsibility to give back to the world.” | | |
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